Talento Para Le Vida
by Purple Flower of Aachen
Summary: Banksia Potter had always been the perfect little golden girl: could do no wrong. She was a god. But even gods have their dark secrets, and it starts not being able to kill Voldemort, and she flees. She returns, but she returns as the head of law enforcement in America. Now, she has to help bring down Voldemort and his partner in crime, Moriarty, who have been unbeatable. Fem!harry
1. Chapter 1

**Talento Para La Vida (Talent for Life)**

**This is that one other fic I keep mentioning that I am going to post/am writing. Other than this one, I'll continue the Badger stories, but that's all that's left from me once the other stories are finished. Which will probably take a while #shrug#**

**This one is a little different, to be frank. The idea is, Fem!Harry Banksia is presented as a mary sue to start, then starting with unable to kill Voldemort, she unravels and is much more normal. Part of it is to do with her secret heritage: you can probably guess from this chapter alone.**

**The modern Sherlock Holmes timeline will be changed a bit, as I am pretty sure the years are slightly different to Harry Potter. None the less, we go through seven or eight chapters before we really see those characters, due to building the story. John and the Holmes brothers will be in this story, and John will have a moment of triumph where he works something out before them.**

* * *

_The rain poured down, drenching everything it touched, and it blew into several places straight falling rain would normally not reach. It was quite late in the day and raining, which left the streets pretty empty. However, there were two people, a boy and a girl, seeking shelter in an alley, trying to hide from the rain where the roofs of some houses go out quite a bit._

_"Why does it have to be like this?" the girl groaned. She had hair like the banksia bush and murky eyes. Dark, browny green was normally how one described them, but really, they were a dark murky brown with a few pigments of green thrown in. Despite her tomboy appearance, her face was quite pretty and well defined. Much like the boy with her. He had dark eyes and black hair and was tall but quite lanky. _

_"With all your talents, Sia, I would have thought you could predict the weather, or even control it," the boy retorted._

_"That is unfair, Sherlock! Just because I happen to have a talent for life does not mean I deserve that response! And it's not like you're without your perfections!" the girl called Sia cried. She was really called Banksia, and Sia was just a nickname she had been gifted by her friends._

_"The only power I have is the power of observation," Sherlock shot back._

_"And magic! I saw you levitating that box earlier today!" the fourteen-year-old cried, extremely frustrated._

_"Alright, fine! That is true! But everything you do you are perfect at or pick up extremely easily! And it gets frustrating, and disheartening," Sherlock said, raising his voice.  
"I don't try to be like that! How do you think it feels to be called a Mary Sue, and have no one likes you just because you have a talent for life, as they call it? And I have to have some compensation for the abuse my relatives give me!" Banksia said, also raising her voice._

_"You call it, you mean: you have just made it up as an excuse for something: clever idea, I'll give you that," Sherlock corrected. Banksia hissed in frustration and things only went downhill from there._

_"AUGH! Sometimes I bloody hate you!" Banksia ended up shouting.  
"We agree on that at least. But good news, this is the last time we are meeting, because my family is moving. Goodbye, Banksia Potter," Sherlock said icily. Then he marched out into the rain and away from Banksia before she got to process what he had said._

_"What do you mean?! Sherlock, come back!" Banksia exclaimed, running out into the rain after her friend. She could not catch up to him though, she fell over and cried a bit instead. Banksia then walked sadly back to her aunt and uncles' home: her current residence._

Current day

Banksia Potter was the girl-who-lived and a perfect little golden girl. There was nothing she could not turn her hand to, she was an enigma. Everyone loved her, (even if they hated her perfectness) and she always did what was asked. A true golden girl.

She saved the Philosophers stone as a mere eleven-year-old; facing Voldemort as part of it! Most eleven-year-olds would never survive that. Then during her second year, a Basilisk was released into the school, and it was discovered Banksia was a Parcel Mouth. After the first few weeks of getting used to it, everyone went back to loving her. Only in those two weeks was she accused of being the heir of Slytherin.

Down in the chamber, she faced a shade of Voldemort; a memory of his young self, she defeated him, even if she got bitten by a basilisk as a result. Luckily Fawkes was near. However, seeing the young Voldemort disturbed Banksia: something about him reminded Banksia of _herself, _and she found that frankly frightful.

The next year, Sirius Black who apparently betrayed her parents, escaped Azkaban and was after her. During that year there were dementors around the school, which badly affect Banksia; she kept hearing her mother dying when she was around them. As a result, she learnt the Patronus Charm to keep the dementors away. It took the form of a stag.

Banksia would never go after Sirius, but when she discovered he was her godfather, and her fathers' (at least) best friend, she became sorely tempted to go after him. But she didn't. In the end, Ron got dragged off under the Whomping Willow, where they discovered Sirius was innocent. However, Peter Pettigrew, their proof that Sirius was innocent, escaped, leaving Sirius to almost be kissed. Luckily Hermione had a time-turner which meant she and Banksia could save Sirius from meeting that fate.

The next year the Tri-Wizard Tournament was in town. After the strange nightmares of Voldemort, and the Death Eaters at the Quidditch World Cup, Banksia boarded the Hogwarts Express with dread for that coming year.

And she had good reason to, too: her name came out of the Goblet, which forced Banksia to have to compete. Then there was the embarrassment of the Yule Ball and her having to take Ron: don't let her go there.

As usual, Banksia survived the tournament and won it with Cedric, but at the end of the third task she saw Voldemort get resurrected, but she managed to escape that in one piece. Cedric Diggory was not so lucky, which made Banksia very guilty, but then, what could she have done? She could not have known they would end up in that Graveyard, or Cedric would get killed.

However, the Ministry refused to believe Voldemort was back, which made them go on a Banksia hate campaign. One good thing was Banksia got to see her godfather quite a bit, in-between homework and learning about Voldemort's past, and helping Dumbledore locate and destroy Horcruxes.

By the time she returned to Hogwarts there was only two he knew of left: they had gotten rid of the Locket, cup and the ring. There was Voldemort's snake, and something to do with Ravenclaw left. The Ravenclaw item they believed would be at Hogwarts, so it was Banksia's task to look for it.

However, this was difficult with the minister placing someone he trusted in the school, Umbridge, who made their life difficult. With all of that, and having to set up an illegal defence club just to hope to pass their owls: it was not a good year.

Banksia did manage to find the Diadem of Ravenclaw and destroy it; just after Dumbledore was sent away from the school. To cap it all off, their club got discovered, luckily, Hermione could trick Umbridge into going into the forest, and the Centaurs dragged her off after she insulted them.

There was not much time to celebrate though, Banksia had had a vision of Voldemort torturing Sirius during her History exam, and they all rushed to the ministry since she had checked Grimmauld place and Sirius was not in. After making their way into the hall of prophecies and finding one labelled for Banksia, they were suddenly running, and protecting themselves from Death Eaters.

This ended in with everyone in a sticky situation, where Banksia thought she would have to give up the Prophecy, in exchange for her friends' lives. However, the Order of the Phoenix made their grand entrance then. Banksia did not have to give up the prophecy. She wished they had arrived a bit sooner though.

However, she saw Voldemort appear and decided to end this once and for all. The snake was here, Dumbledore was which meant he could deal with it, which just left Voldemort, who Banksia was after now.

When they were away from the others, and Banksia thought there would be no interruptions, Banksia sent a full-body binding curse at Voldemort, which successfully hit, and left him lying on the ground, paralysed. Banksia then proceeded to kill him.

However, every spell she tried: the cutting spell series, a few exploding charms and even the killing curse itself: they all failed, and a couple of the more powerful ones rebounded! Banksia could not believe it: this was the first thing she had failed! (Apart from probably her history exam.)

"No! This can't be! I can't!" Banksia cried in despair, dropping to her knees. What was she going to tell everyone? She could not do her job?  
"This will not do at all. But what am I to do?!" Banksia exclaimed. She then quietly but quickly ran back to the atrium and snuck through the floo. Yes, Banksia was being a coward: she was running away for the first time in her life. She got out at the Leaky Cauldron and went down to Gringotts, a plan forming. She couldn't face her friends and Dumbledore after this: she was just too ashamed.

"Yes?" The Goblin asked after Banksia showed him her key.  
"I need to take quite a lot of money out of my vault, enough that I should not have money troubles for a while, but enough that there is still a reasonable amount left. Will it still collect interest from the main vault? Can I also have half of it turned into Muggle money, please? I am going to America, so I need you to give me a new Identity, too," Banksia asked. She had read in the paper Gringotts could give you new identities.

"Of course, heiress Potter, and yes it will," the goblin said, grabbing some papers and quill, then getting up and moving toward where the carts where.  
"Do you mind if I stay here? I am feeling a little weak, and I am not sure I could survive the trip without throwing up," Banksia asked weakly. After everything that had happened that day, and because of how late it was, she was feeling very tired and surprisingly, sick.

"Of course," the goblin said, seeming to understand, he then handed Banksia her papers.

"Thank you," Banksia nodded gratefully. Then as the goblin left her presence, she collapsed into a waiting chair.

"I hope no one has noticed me missing yet," Banksia whispered. Then she filled the papers in. She needed to supply a few already known details, then her new name and anything else she wanted to set. She decided to go for the name 'Iris Camilla Russell.' She made up names for parents, too.

Then she called, "Dobby!"  
"Mistress Potter!" Dobby cried as he appeared. He looked at Banksia concernedly.

"Can you fetch all my stuff from Hogwarts, please? I am going away, and might not be back for a while," Banksia asked.

"Mistress is leaving?" Dobby asked, shocked. But then he snapped out of it and nodded. "I'll be right back."  
Then he left. While she waited for the goblin and Dobby, the thought occurred to Banksia: how was she going to create her disappearance? Then an idea came to mind! Get Dobby to create a brutally murdered body of herself! Perfect! House Elf magic was different from wizard magic, and in some cases seemed much more powerful.  
Dobby returned first. "Here we go: Dobby fitted it all into your trunk and brought your owl," Dobby said, handing Banksia her trunk and Hedwig.

"Thank you!" Banksia cried. Hedwig hooted a welcome to her mistress.

"Hello, girl. Can you cast an extension charm on my trunk, and put a masking charm on the trunk?" Banksia asked Dobby, and he nodded and quickly did so.

"I have one more request for you, Dobby," Banksia asked the house-elf.

"Of course! Anything at all!" Dobby nodded quickly.

"Thanks, Dobby, you are a star. Can you please go and create a brutally murdered version of my body, and place it somewhere where it will be found?" Banksia asked, and Dobby nodded frantically. "Thank you, Dobby! I am really grateful. Goodbye, I won't forget you, but hopefully, I will return before one or both of us pass away," Banksia said hugging the little elf.

"Dobby is chuffed that Mistress Potter speaks with such praise. Goodbye, and good luck," Dobby said quietly. Then he popped off again, leaving Banksia alone to wait for the goblin.

A few minutes later, the Goblin returned. "Here you go, Heiress Potter: I have done the conversion and everything for you." He handed her a large back full of money, hopefully.  
"Thank you so much; and here are the papers you wanted," Banksia said gratefully.

"Thank you. When you reach America, Miss Potter, go straight to Gringotts, or Yankgotts as it's called, and they shall have everything you need ready, then you can go to the Ministry. This portkey will take you into their foyer. From there, you will be able to go to the ministry," the goblin said, handing Banksia a letter addressed to herself.

"Thank you," Banksia nodded.

Then she left the bank and walked back up to the Leaky Cauldron. Before entering, she casted some glamours. Being in Diagon Alley, there was no problem with being yelled at for underage magic. They were semi-permanent charms so they would last for several months or until she dropped them. Her hair was now a deep red, and slightly wavy, but it still looked nice. Her eyes were acid green, and she had made her skin a bit darker then it was now.

Then Banksia strode forward into the pub and booked a room for the night and a light dinner, both of which she got. After eating, Banksia lay down in bed and was out like a light: it had been a very draining day!

She still felt bad for abandoning her friends, but after what happened, she couldn't face them again. They had such high hopes and expectations, and she only had one job! Which she failed. No, Banksia, despite it all, was going to take the coward's way out. If she couldn't kill Voldemort as her spells rebounded, what use was sure to England, anyway?

* * *

**Here we see the Slytherin personality shine through a bit more. And the reason in this story why Voldemort can't kill her works both ways. You will find out later, or you might work it out. And the reason she as able to escape is, she goes after Voldemort, and disappears: no would is going to guess she ran away, and wizards are already gullible. **

**One thing I forgot to mention is the Dursleys will be nicer in this story. They won't exactly be parent figures, but nicer than in canon. So what do you think? Love it? Hate it?**

** Moriarty and Voldemort end up banding together, which is very frightening. Voldemort will be useful for Moriarty, and vice versa. That's how Voldemort looks over his hate for Muggles just this once. He plans a bit more and get's a bit smarter.**

**You will probably find that the wizarding world in America and Illvermorny in this story is very different to how JK has it. It is more fun to make it up after all, and I couldn't be bothered trolling the varies HP sites to make everything just right.**

**Note: I write for my enjoyment which is why I am still here. If you enjoy it too, that's an extra bonus.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Getting help to Escape **

**This is where Petunia comes in! It is the only time I plan for the Dursleys to appear on screen, so to speak, but things can change and they might appear in good old flashbacks.**

**Pairings:  
Ronmione (Ron/Hermione)**

**Sirius and a currently unnamed witch**

**Ronks (Remus/Tonks)**

**Ginny X Dean. But Dean dies, and I haven't decided on a pairing for her after that.**

**Neville X Hannah**

**Luna X Rolf**

**Bill X Fleur**

**I haven't decided for Banksia. I was originally going for her to be with Sherlock though, and that's the current plan unless someone Or I come up with another idea. John hasn't currently got a pairing, either.**

* * *

The next morning after eating breakfast, Banksia went to leave the Leaky Cauldron, putting a hood over her head before doing so. Then she undid the glamour charms and stepped out. She had stepped out onto the high street. After walking to the edge of the footpath to be almost on the road, she pulled out her wand to summon the night bus, after glancing around to make sure no one was watching her directly.

It was a pretty murky day, and still very early. The grey streets of London were looking very quiet, with a heavy shower of rain pouring down. Perfect for a runaway teenager to make her escape: there were a few cars, and maybe two other people.

After a minute or two, the night bus came to a screeching halt in front of her. "Privet Drive in Little Whinging," Banksia barked as she boarded, basically throwing the money at the young wizard named Stan Shunpike.

"Yes, mam. It will be a bit of time, though," Stan said a little stunned.

"Yes, yes: I know! Just get me there as soon as you can!" Banksia cried irritably as she went to go and sit down.

Once she was seated, it was not long until the bus started again. Someone had left a paper behind, (the morning paper,) so she read that. It seemed she had made front cover yet again, as her own face was staring up at her from the front page:  
_"Girl-Who-Lived kidnapped!  
Banksia Potter, the Girl-Who-Lived, was seemingly kidnapped during a battle between light and dark wizards in the ministry this morning. Regina Smith reports:  
Apparently, Miss Potter and some friends travelled to the ministry on Theastrals and for whatever reason, descended upon the ministry. The Death Eaters and Who-Know-Who soon appeared, causing the teenagers to run for their life. When they were about to give up hope…"_

Banksia stopped there, not even amused. Stupid! It sounded like this was some action movie, certainly not worthy of reading to pass the time. The long and the short of it was, they thought Voldemort had kidnapped her, but just in case, be on the look-out. They hadn't found her 'body' yet. It would only be a matter of time though.

"Excuse me, miss: we have reached your destination," Stan said nervously. She had growled at him before, and he didn't want to be snapped at again. That brought Banksia out of her thoughts. She glanced up to see Stan was talking to her.

"Thanks," Banksia said, hurriedly getting up and picking up her owl and trunk. Then she quickly left the bus and started down privet drive, hood still over her face. She had pulled it so low no would be able to see her unless it was pulled up.  
When the bus had gone, she broke into a run and ran to the door of number 4 and banged on the door. The people here, her relatives, were the only ones who could help her, despite how much they hated her. She pulled her hood back so whoever opened the door could see her face.

Surprisingly, it was rather sunny here, she noted while waiting. The gardens of the street looked splendid with the spring flowers coming out. Banksia wished she could freeze this moment of bliss forever.  
"YOU! Your back early. Did they expel you or something?" Petunia said, after opening the door and seeing who it was.

"Not exactly. Listen, I need to get to the port and aboard a ship to America. Please, can you take me?" Banksia said hurriedly, after a quick glance around.

Petunia snorted. "You do not have a passport, miss. What is the rush, anyway? Are you running away?" Petunia asked, completely surprised.  
Then again, maybe she shouldn't be surprised. Until a year ago, her niece would not have said anything like that: she had Hogwarts and friends there, and was good friends with some freaky boy who lived nearby. Or so she assumed. She had a friend before she attended that school and Dudley had said he had seen them meet up after that.

But things changed for the girl. While Petunia pretended not to care, she did, a little bit. The girl had gotten gloomier and quieter. She stopped arguing, and just did as she was told. Petunia knew it was a change, though a welcome one.

"Here: I picked it up after leaving you; a friend nicely picked it up for me," Banksia said, pulling a passport from her pocket. Remus had agreed to take her down to get one, then he picked it up for her, bless him. Just in case, and not to mention handy. All the members of the order had a passport, so the likes of Banksia, Ron and Hermione got one also. In the case of needing to flee, they could escape via Muggle transport.

"All right, but that answers only one of the questions," Petunia nodded.

"I have not done something I am supposed to do, and I can't do it: I cannon physically kill Voldemort! I am a coward, Petunia! Yes, I am running away. Please?" Banksia asked, begging.

Petunia looked at her for a while then her expression gave in. "Alright, just wait a minute," She went inside, leaving Banksia at the door, waiting. There was no reason not to do it: Lily's daughter would no longer be on any concern after this.

A few minutes later Petunia returned with her handbag and a coat. She shut the door behind her and locked it. "Come on, I don't have all day," Petunia said, walking over to the car she could use. Banksia hurriedly followed Petunia and she got into the passenger seat when the car had been unlocked.

As Petunia backed out of the driveway and drove up to the street to the main road, Banksia said, "Thank you for this."  
"That's fine," Petunia said shortly. Then she asked, "Did you have the forethought to grab money?"  
"Yes, I did, thank you," Banksia nodded, patting her trunk. Petunia seemed a bit surprised.

"Good. What do you think you'll do in America?" Petunia asked.

"I don't know. Find a school there, create a new identity, and start again: what else can I do? And I might try and find out why I could not kill Voldemort," Banksia said, thinking on the spot. She had not thought that far ahead yet.

"That's odd," Petunia commented. But she said no more. After a while, she said, "I suppose if you are running away, I should expect a visit from Dumbledore." she said Dumbledore with loathing laced in her voice. It still stung how she couldn't go to Hogwarts. And she had magic! Apparently, not enough.

Petunia didn't understand it. Lily had jumped off swings when they were at the highest height and been unhurt, and made flowers move, but Petunia had changed the colour of a shirt her mother made her wear when she didn't like it, and she was sure she had unlocked the door that time, her father couldn't find the key to fit in the lock until it suddenly unlocked.

It eventually unlocked, which she thought was her doing, so he just assumed he had found the right key. But the key didn't look right to Petunia. Despite it all, she apparently only had the magic of a squib, whatever one of those was.

"Probably; be careful, he can read minds. And by the end of the day, the wizarding world shall think I'm dead, so practice acting accordingly," Banksia warned.

"Yes, I know. I did not go to Hogwarts, wasn't good enough, basically, but I did learn how to defend myself from mind attack: the only bit of magic I know. That's the only trick up my sleeve, and don't you dare tell anyone," Petunia said gruffly.

"You're a witch? That all explains who you always knew when I was lying!" Banksia cried, clicking her fingers.

"Don't make me regret this, girl," Petunia puttered under her breath, making Banksia giggle slightly. The Dursleys had never liked her and hadn't been exactly nice to her, but she wouldn't say they abused her, verbally or physically. Maybe a close thing though. Despite her talent for life, Banksia did get into trouble, which was what usually went wrong between her and her family.

The two-woman sat in silence until the car reached London. Petunia asked, "Now, it was the harbour you wanted, wasn't it?"  
"Yes, please," Banksia nodded.

"I am pretty sure there is a boat that leaves in an hour, which you should catch, assuming things do not go horribly wrong traffic-wise," Petunia said, keeping her eyes to the road.

"Great!" Banksia said with a soft smile. To her surprise, Petunia smiled back.

Half an hour later, they pulled up at the harbour. After Banksia grabbed Hedwig and her trunk, Petunia locked the car and then they went to where the customs were, and the place for booking tickets.

"Good day, ladies, how can I help you?" a man asked, as Petunia and Banksia walked up to a guy in a booth with tickets written above him.

"Am I correct in believing a ship heading to America is leaving in twenty-five minutes?" Petunia asked. Five minutes had passed since they arrived, by the time they'd parked and all that.

"Yep, that's right. It arrives in Boston next week, or so I'm told, and we accept animals on board, within reason of course. Would you like a ticket for that ship? We still have some left," the man asked.

"My niece, just here, would like a ticket. But I would not," Petunia answered.

"Alright, can I see your passport?" the guy asked Banksia.

"Here," Banksia said, pulling it out and handing it to this fellow.

He looked at it, then he filled in some papers and handed the passport back. "nine hundred and sixty pounds, please," he said as Banksia took the passport.

"Since when have boat fairs become so cheap?" Petunia asked as Banksia handed the money over. When she was a teenager, she and her family had gone for a cruise around parts of Thailand, and it had been at least nine hundred per child and one thousand and a half for an adult.

The ticket man was surprised that Banksia Potter had handed over the amount in cash. That was a lot to carry around. Was there something dodgy going on? Or was sure a wealthy heiress with no sense of danger when it came to carrying large sums of cash?

"Since planes became popular, lady: we tried to fight, but now mainly people take leisure cruises. Now, Miss Potter, just go through customs and show your passport, and ticket to one of the men waiting on the other side. They shall take you aboard and to your cabin. Don't forget: the money you paid includes three meals a day with free drinks throughout and a few snacks," the man said.  
"Really? Thank you so much," Banksia said beaming.

"Thanks," Petunia said, as she and Banksia walked away from him.

"Well, this is it. Good luck," Petunia said as she and Banksia stepped just outside customs.

"Thank you so much, Petunia, I am so grateful. And good luck here," Banksia said sincerely. She stared at her aunt for a few seconds, then she turned and swiftly walked through customs, not looking back.

Banksia got through customs and onto the ship with no problems; ah! This was it. Fifteen minutes, and she would be free of England and she could not wait. With her new identity in hand, she was ready to take America by storm. Now, she just had to wait for the ship to leave…

It was times like this she missed her old friend Sherlock. He had been in the class above her at school before Hogwarts, and like her, was a bit of an outcast. Sherlock had been Banksia's only friend.

But of course, they got older and Banksia went to Hogwarts, which put ice between them. Then with Sherlock moving away; well, she had not seen him since. She missed him, and his older brother, though he could be a prat sometimes.

It was actually a pity Mycroft and Percy Weasley never met, or as far as Banksia knew they didn't meet. They were both very similar yet have differences, and she was sure they would have gotten on like a house on fire.

Banksia then walked out of her cabin, locking it behind her. She would straighten everything up later when the ship was heading to America and she had hours of time to waste. In the meantime, she was going to wait on deck until the boat left.

Ten minutes of watching people board the ship and gather on the dock; now, finally the boat was ready to leave. The bridge she had to cross to get onto it was brought up, the anchors were pulled up, and the boat started to pull away. The people on deck and on the harbour waved and called goodbye. Banksia was among them on deck.  
When they were a good way away from the harbour, she returned to her cabin to straighten it out, closing the Girl-Who-Lived chapter of her life. That was gone as soon as she fled the ministry, but like all good books, chapters had to wrap up plot points and side stories.

Just as the boat pulled away, a special newspaper was released, revealing the 'death' of Banksia Lillian Potter at the hand of Voldemort, or so it was believed.

####################

"I cannot believe she is gone," sobbed Ginny. She, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Neville and the rest of the DA (Dumbledore's Army) who gathered in the Room of Requirement, (their normal meeting place,) mourning the death of their friend, and leader, Banksia Potter. A special release version of the daily prophet had told them Banksia had been found dead, murdered by Voldemort, or so they believed.

The room looked the same as it always did for their meetings: a few bullet boards, chairs and cushions on the sidelines, but other than that, it was a long room with nothing in it. There were targets down the furthest end from the door.

"I can't either! It seems so impossible!" Hermione said, also crying.

"I cannot believe snake-face killed her! She was so perfect and great at magic! I can't believe she was beaten! She might have been miss perfect, but we all loved her, and her powers should have beaten snake-face!" Ron exclaimed.

While everyone sobbed and said they could not believe it, Luna stood at the back, crying. She liked Banksia, and she was sad that she was now dead. Banksia had been kind to her and accepted and believed in what Luna did: such a nice person.

However, something was trying to tell her Banksia was not dead, which confused Luna: if she was not dead, where was she now? Luna did not know, and she did not sing out but this feeling, as Luna was smart enough to know that would be a bad idea.

She just hoped Banksia was safe and would one day return; in some shape or form. If she was still alive, why did she flee? Was it possible she was not truly a Gryffindor and fled in cowardness? If so, that was just sad. Luna and Neville at least would have still liked her if she couldn't kill Voldemort, or was too scared to. All Banksia's friends did know, after all, how the hat wanted her to be in Slytherin and she had talked it out of it.

Luna hoped Banksia would become a politician. If she could talk the sorting hat into sorting her into a certain house, she could talk anyone into anything.

Having said it all, Banksia could just return as a spirit, like Myrtle and Helena.

* * *

**I feel so sorry for the DA! They don't understand, and they would have been the closest to her, at that time. About the boat fair: The idea is it's a ship cargo-like ship that carries passengers as well. But considering most people fly these days, the boat prices would have to go down to compete. And it is after all in a world with Magic!**

**Feel free to suggest pairings, by the way. They will find out the truth, but not for some years when they're all much different. Next up, she arrives in America and starts to get organised for her new life and stuff. **

**I hope nothing I;ve said has upset anyone. If it has I apologise.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: America**

**Here we are, chapter 3. And I just want to say I am overwhelmed and flattered by the support this story has got so far. It still will be a long ride, and ideas and suggestions are welcome.**

**Do not own HP.**

* * *

The trip to America was great as far as Banksia was concerned. After setting up her cabin, she decided to explore the boat a bit. The sights of the sea were amazing too: the passengers saw all kinds of different creatures, some of which Banksia had not seen in real life before, and some she'd not seen at all. Well, most actually, with this being her first time off the mainland. The only other place she'd visited outside of England was Scotland for going to Hogwarts, but she hadn't crossed the sea for that, though.

The food the ship served was very tasty, and Banksia could not get enough of it. The best part was they were fed for free as it was a buffet! She could eat as much as she wanted, and not have to worry about the cost, like being back home at Hogwarts.

Banksia was grateful she had brought a swimsuit before she started at her fifth-year at Hogwarts, as there was a pool on the boat's deck, and she could swim in it, otherwise, it would not have been possible without swimming in some of her normal clothes.

She had originally got them to swim in the Black Lake with Hermione, Luna, Ginny, and Susan Bones, but they had quickly decided that it was too cold and gave up on that idea.

None the less, the morning of the boat's arrival in America did not come too soon for Banksia: she had been getting a mild case of Cabin Fever, so she was glad they were almost at the shore. In her excitement, she made a whirlwind pack up of all her things in her cabin, then she made a list of what she would need to do when she got there.

She first needed to find a dark alley to use the Portkey in, then when she had sorted everything with the Goblins out, including a vault and a backstory, she would need to make herself known to the ministry, and find out about attending a wizard school, which would probably mean re-sitting her O.W.L.S.

Not that she minded, she had been doing some study in the quiet times during this voyage, (in her cabin) which would bring her As and Es up, or certainly make sure they didn't go down, and she would be able to get a better mark in her history exam, too.

Then she would need to find somewhere to stay: book a hotel until she was old enough to rent maybe, and get a summer job. There was a chance the ministry had an orphanage or a shelter she could get into to, which would be preferable.

She was pretty sure that America had a few schools, but she could only remember Salem, and that was a girls' only school and had a very limited curriculum which was not what Banksia was after: had only half the subjects Hogwarts had. She would ask about the others and hope one of the schools had the same curriculum as Hogwarts, or maybe slightly bigger.

Then Banksia sighed: soon, she would have to get used to calling herself Iris, which would take some getting used to. She had been known as Banksia her whole life and loved her name but she had no choice but to change: Banksia was pretty uncommon, after all.

Half an hour later, Banksia was on deck with her luggage, watching the pier get closer, and slowly the boat got closer to the pier then the boat was moored, and the draw bridge was brought up to the boat.

Five minutes after porting, the passengers slowly stepped off the boat onto the soil of America. After going through customs, Banksia charged up the street and went into the first dark alley she found and went a fair way up it.

She knew the wizarding world was dangerous for someone not yet an adult, but the Muggle World was even worse, so she wanted to get out of it fast. Especially the big city: who knew what lurked down these alleys, waiting to attack, kill, and who knows what else to people passing by.

She looked around and then pulled the portkey out. After going through customs she had put her trunk down on a bench and got it out; the portkey was taking the form of a galleon, which had the look like a funky coin to the muggles, but anyone who knew anything about galleons would soon see it was just a pretend coin.

"YankGotts," Banksia whispered, and she felt the tug at her middle and she was off. When she landed at the other end, she was standing on two feet, but struggling not to vomit. Portkeys had never agreed with her, which was annoying, as she was fine with every other magical method of transportation, and Portkeys were the most used and the most convenient when there wasn't a fireplace, and it was a faraway destination or you had no idea what it looked like.

When she was sure she could move without disgracing herself, Banksia looked around and saw she was in a glass-walled room: outside looked like the Gringotts she was used to. On the door there was a thick sign, Banksia resolved to read it when she left the room.

After Banksia had opened the door and shut it behind her, she saw the sign on the door said, 'Portkeys Only here.' She wondered if that meant they could only be used in this room. After reading that, she walked up to one of the Goblins serving customers.

"I am Banksia Potter from England, sir, the goblins in my old country said to come here to sort my new identity out," Banksia said getting to the point.

"Another arrogant English witch," the goblin remarked.

"I am not!" exclaimed Banksia, put out.

"I am Sir Hendric. Hold on." he got up and went into a small room behind him, then Hendric came back with a folder. "Here is an identification card that also works as a passport if need be, and here is a folder with backstory. Now, would you like to make an account with us?" Hendric asked, getting to business. He seemed to have decided to ignore her comment.

"Yes, please," Banksia nodded.

"Please fill these in. And would you like the details for transferring into the vault be on the key? There is a fee, but this is for no extra cost over the small fee for renting the vault," Hendric said as Banksia took the papers.

"Yes, please," Banksia said, as she filled the papers for setting up a YankGott's account. It seemed the Gringotts in this country were called YankGotts.

When she was finished, she handed the papers back to the goblin. "Wait here," Hendric ordered as he got up, then he went off again.

While she waited, Banksia read her backstory as Iris Russell. She was supposedly a pureblood from a family in Australia who lived in England since she was three, but the war had killed off all her family, which was why she was escaping to America, because the family had lived there once, before they moved to Australia, before they moved to England.

She did not have any O.W.L.S as Iris Russell, but she was up to that level in all the subjects she had done at Hogwarts and had experience the darker subjects such as Rituals and by extension Alchemy, and Dark Arts.

That all suited Banksia fine, and she was sure she could buy books and get enough experience in those darker subjects (hopefully) to have her story believable. From how Malfoy talked about America, it seemed to cover darker things, and you were expecting to know about them.

Then she started thinking about the Russell family and designing it, as she opened her trunk on the ground to get some money to put in her new vault. Before she got off the boat, she had put seven galleons, ten sickles and fifteen knuts in a small bag away from the rest of it for school fees and supplies: she took that out.

She then recalled Ron mentioning a Suzanne Russell on one of the trophy's he had to clean, (a Ravenclaw) then Hermione mentioned it was an Australian family. She then went on to talk about how Nathen Russell, Suzanne's older brother, had a daughter, but she disappeared as a baby: Hermione also mentioned Nathen was a Slytherin. Then it occurred to her that she could actually be a Russell, considering how little she knew of her mother's family.

She knew Lily's parents were Muggles, but Banksia knew nothing beyond that. It was possible that her grandmother was the missing Russell child, and she had been a squib, then again, considering how different Lily looked from the rest of her family, (Hagrid had supplied a photo of the whole Evans family,) it was possible she was actually an adopted child, and Banksia didn't know the dates that Nathen Russell attended Hogwarts, nor the date his daughter was born, which was what backed that theory.

Then again, Banksia could have no relation to the Russells, which was most likely. But considering it was never confirmed if the baby died or not, there was a possibility Lily's family could have magical blood closer then any of them had thought.

Right then, Hendric came back. "All sorted. Here is your key, Miss Potter or Lady Russell as you should be known as: one galleon and twenty sickles please," he said.

"Is that a title?" Banksia/Iris asked, and the goblin nodded. "Out of curiosity, do I have a title as Banksia Potter?"

"Heiress Potter, but you should know that already. When you go back to being Miss Potter I would claim it: when you come of age, it may be nineteen for the Potter family, you can claim the title of Lady Potter as well: Russell only have sixteen as their lord or lady. We can claim it for you from here, but it would take time," Hendric said in a way that sounded like, 'you idiot.'

"That would be great, thank you. And can I get to the ministry from here?" Iris/Banksia asked.

"Yes, just through that Fireplace over there. Cry AMARM: American ministry and records of Magic," Hendric said, rolling his eyes. Banksia handed the payment over.

"Thanks. Umm, can I put stuff in my vault now?" Iris/Banksia asked.

"This way," Hendric sighed, he got down from behind the counter and led her down a stone corridor. At the other end looked like mine carts to get down to the vaults, and all the rooms had numbers on them.

"In here," Hendric said, pulling up at number fifteen on the left. In this room was a table with bags on it.

Hendric grabbed two bags and used what was probably Goblin Magic to put numbers on them. Iris/Banksia quickly realised Hendric had put the number of her new vault on the bag: Russell222294440, if her key was to be believed.

"Place what you want in these bags. If there is Muggle and Magical money put them in the two separate bags," Hendric said.

Iris/Banksia nodded and got to work straight away. She opened up the trunk and got her money bag out before putting the money into the bags. In the end, she had left enough for herself to cover meals, books, room rent and any other equipment she needed. She was pretty sure any ministry fees she could get the bank to transfer.

"Can I get fees paid by having money taken out of my vault and put directly into theirs?" she asked Hendric when she thought she was finished.

"Yes: they will have a special slip that you will put the name and the number of your vault in, plus those three numbers on the back if the key." Iris/Banksia pulled out her key and saw these numbers. "Then you shall sign it and if the signature looks the same as the documents you signed, we will put it through," Hendric said.

"Thank you. I am done," Iris/Banksia said with a small nodded.

"Very well, I will get this taken down shortly," Hendric said, taking Banksia/Iris back to the main hall.

"Thank you for your time," Iris/Banksia said gratefully.

"No problem. Thank you, Lady Russell: and expect to hear from us about your other question about claiming the Potter title," Hendric said.

Iris/Banksia nodded, then marched over to the floo, before taking some power and throwing it over her head while crying the name of the ministry for magic here.

3747ryrr6

As Iris/Banksia stepped out at the Ministry, she was coughing and spluttering. It seemed that Floo powder in America was very dusty and as a result, she was coughing a lot after using it.

Upon recovering from coughing up the floo powder, she stood up straight and walked up the stairs to the right, then over to a wizard who looked like they worked here. Hopefully, they could give her directions of where to go.

The entrance hall looked like some fancy building in the muggle world: it was a bit more light and elegant than the ministry in England. Right in the middle of it, there was a huge clock displaying the time; it was in between two staircases, one seemed to be up way, and the other seemed to go down. It also had what looked like for telling wherever or not something (Banksia/Iris had no idea what, nor could see) was in danger.

"Excuse me, but can you tell me where would be the best place for me to go? I have just arrived here from another country and I want to live here, but I have no idea what to do," Iris/Banksia asked. The wizard she was talking to looked quite sleepy, so she doubted she would get too many straight answers from him.

"Wha? Oh, yeah: lemme call someone up for you. While you wait, sign this paper," the wizard said, waking up surprisingly fast. He gestured to a sign-in paper in front of him, then started writing down on some paper.

Iris/Banksia wrote her name down, she had to double-check to make sure she put the right name down, then she did the date and time: luckily she could look behind herself at the clock. After the wizard had finished writing, he folded it into a paper plane and it went off down one of the corridors that went off to find a wizard.

"The minister of magic and the ministers of education have been notified. They will send someone out to get you, miss, just wait here," the wizard said.

"Lady Russell, and thank you," Iris/Banksia said, walking away from the desk.

A few minutes later, a dark-skinned lady came out and walked over to Iris/Banksia. "Are you the traveller from England?" she asked.

"Yes, I am. Lady Iris Russell," Iris (Banksia) said, holding her hand out.

"Willow Picquery, and it is a pleasure to meet you. I am the secretary for the minister," the woman said smiling.

"Nice to meet you," Iris (Banksia) said, shaking hands with the secretary.

"Come with me," Willow said gesturing, and then she walked off, with Iris (Banksia) following; Willow led Iris back the way Willow came.

They went down a series of long corridors, with lots of doors going off it. After what seemed like forever, they finally reached a waiting room with a desk in it nearby a door. "Just go straight in," Willow said smiling at Iris, (Banksia,) she walked over and returned to her desk.

"Okay," Iris (Banksia) said nervously.

She walked up to the door and opened it before going in to see what was in there. Two men were waiting for her: one reminded her of a nicer version of Professor Snape, and the other looked like a stalk that might have come from hell.

"You are?" the Professor Snape look-a-like asked.

"Iris Russell, I believe the wizard at the front desk sent you are paper plane about me, then you sent your secretary to get me," Iris (Banksia) said as if they already knew who she was.

"Oh yes. I am the minister, Jack Quick," the Professor Snape look-a-like, Minister Quick said.

"I'm the head of the education department, Rowan Bell; it is a pleasure to meet you," the other man said: he actually sounded Spanish. Then he said, "So apart from being from another country and a Russell, what else is there to know about you? What level of schooling do you have? Living family? Age?"

"I am fifteen but will be turning sixteen early in July," Iris (Banksia) said, telling them her fake birth date after that. "I have been homeschooled in Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, History of Magic, Astronomy, Defence against dark arts, Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, and I need to take my O.W.L.S of those. Then I have knowledge in Alchemy, dark arts, and rituals. I am all that's left of my family, as far as I know. Which school would you suggest? As I would like to attend one," she finished. She was lying about those last three subjects, but she was going to study like crazy to fix it.

"Ah. If you would like to organise a date for your O.W.L.S, Rowan could easily organise that now. And if you pass, you should be able to continue at Illervmorny: they cover all those subjects, plus of catch up classes for those other subjects: they have a big catch up class and class selection. There are other options for schools, but that would be the best for you from what we know about you," Minister Quick said helpfully.

"Yes, and we can do O.W.L.S any time: we have people here sitting exams every day! It is no problem," Mr Bell said quickly.

"Thank you. Are their any papers I need to sign? I would like to become a citizen, too," Iris (Banksia) asked.

"Yes, there are, I will just ask Willow to grab those papers. In the meantime, Rowan will tell you about options for your second question. As a general rule, you have to be attending school or working here for at least three years to become a citizen when your underage, but because your an orphan and from a family that used to live here, we might be able to find some way to get around that rule," Minister Quick said, leaving the room.

"Yes, well: arriving here as a minor and probably going to be schooled here, you are covered by our protection, even as an adult: we can stop you from being exported. If in ten years time you are sure you want to stay here, then I would suggest doing the tests, but we will give you minors' wizard citizenship in the meantime until your eighteenth birthday, which means you are a citizen until you come of age, then you become a permanent resident. We see you as minors until you are eighteen: the muggle way. I would wait another seven or how many years before taking that test, as once you're a citizen here, all your other citizenship from other countries become invalid. That's my suggestion, but this area is not my expertise," Mr Bell explained.

Then he asked, "Now when would be a good time for those O.W.L.S? We need three or four days to do it over, as we will also test those other subjects to see where your up to, and these things take time."

"Okay," Iris said, being caught off guard. She quickly said, "About Wednesday in two weeks? And then Friday and Thursday?"

"Okay, how about starting at eight all days? You will be here until four-thirty or five, depending on the timetable we come up with, and we may eat into Saturday," Mr Bell suggested.

"Sounds great! Also, where can I stay?" Iris asked.

"We have a home- well, an orphanage of suits for magic children like you. You get food and home living in our orphanage, and everyone has knowledge of this world so no problem there, plus there are floo and portkey access. Willow can give you the address, then you leave if you wish," Minister Quick said coming back in, holding some papers.

"I think I will go there. Thanks," Iris said, seeing it as a good place to stay.

"Right. Willow, can you go and tell Rainbow Lodge to make a room for a Lady Iris Russell?" Minster Quick said, turning back to the room he just came from and talking to Willow. Then he closed the door and came in.

"Fill these in please, then you may go if you have sorted out exam dates," Minister Quick said, flopping some papers down on his desk, the side for visitors.

"Thank you. Where can I go and buy wizard stuff? And are there any good Muggle malls around? Do you know about muggle stores?" Iris asked as she sat down, placing her trunk down next to the chair.

"Yes, the place for magical stuff is Yelling Alley: you can floo there. Nearby Rainbow Lodge there is a big department store: Livinia at the lodge will tell you more about both," Minister Quick said as Iris started filling the forms in.

"Thanks," she responded.

Upon finishing filling the papers in, she said, "Done."

"Good. Pleasure meeting you, Lady Russell," Minister Quick said. They all shook hands.

"You two, gentlemen. I will be back in two weeks," Iris said, smiling as she stood up then she picked up her trunk.

"Until then," Mr Bell said as Iris left.

"You will want to get to Rainbow Lodge now?" Willow asked Iris as she shut the door into the minister's office.

"Yes, please. They were quick to get rid of me," Iris commented as Willow walked over.

"Yes, the minister is the type of man who will get his work quite early to leave work early," Willow remarked. Then she said, "Now, just grab some floo power and cry, 'Rain Homes!' that will take you there." She smiled broadly.

"Thank you so much. See you later!" Iris said gratefully.

"You too," Willow said as Iris grabbed the floo and stepped into the fireplace.

"Rain Homes!" Iris cried, then she was gone. Hearing her say it properly, Willow went back to her work.

When Iris got to the other end, she stepped out, spluttering from the dusty floo powder. Much to her embarrassment, someone saw her in this state.

"Ah, you must be Lady Russell," A white-haired woman remarked. Iris looked up at her as she heard the woman speak. She looked quite kind: she actually reminded Iris slightly of Molly Weasley.

"Yes, mam," Iris nodded.

"Follow me, your room is up here: I am Livinia," the lady said chirpily.

"Okay," Iris nodded, following the lady up the stairs. They went up to the second floor.

On the second floor, they came to a room numbered, (in gold) where Livinia pulled out a key and unlocked the door before opening it and going in. Iris followed.

"The rooms here are sit up as hotel rooms, including door locks to keep your stuff safe. These locks are designed so no spell can unlock them. Now, we have little rules: you must sign up for a task every morning. Sarah, another person who works here, will come around with the roster at Breakfast. No funny business with the boys, and no bullying, being mean or anything else like that to other children. No using magic until your seventeen, and you may go out any time between after breakfast and five. Just make sure you do your chore every day. Also, house-elves clean and tidy rooms, but we expect you to make some effort to keep yours clean and tidy. Now, any questions?" Livinia asked.

"Yes: can I go and buy magic books today?" Iris asked, wanting to get studying on those other subjects as soon as possible.

"Sure, the address is the name of the alley, and it will take you to the visitor centre. Then cry the floo address you used to get here from the ministry to return. Just put your stuff away first," Livinia said, before handing Iris her key and then walking off.

The first thing Iris did was make sure it was the key, then she got unpacking eager to go and buy those books.

* * *

**In case you were wondering and it's not clear, Iris does feel bad about abandoning everyone, but she is embarrassed and upset about what happened.**

**That's all I can think to say, so thanks for dropping by.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: living here **

**Merry Christmas everyone! Ah, no, too later. Happy New Year! no, too late for that too. Hello! It's been a while, and sadly this is a short chapter, but none of the chapters (so far) are that long. Can't think of much to say, mind you.**

**We are still quite a few chapters off another look at England, sorry if that's what you're looking forward to. But this is important for Banksia/Iris, and without some set up the skip forward will not make sense.**

* * *

After unpacking, Iris/Banksia straight away took the floo to Yelling Alley, where she could buy her books; she left after notifying Livinia that she was going there. Before leaving her room, Iris grabbed the small bag of the money she had in her trunk. There was plenty in there for this shopping trip, and hopefully, as many trips as she needed until term started. After grabbing her money, Iris locked her room to (hopefully) keep the rest of her stuff safe. She hoped that her possessions were safe if nothing else: there was a no stealing policy, but still, you can't trust anyone.

Iris, after flooing, stopped at the cauldron shop (first) to buy herself a new cauldron: she left the shop when she had purchased her pewter cauldron, and then headed down the street. She was headed to the bookshop, but she only knew where to go because she asked directions from the cauldron shop owner. The cauldron shop was one of the first shops she came to upon stepping onto Yelling Alley.

In Diagon Alley, it was pretty easy to find your way around, but here, it was like the shopping district of Muggle London! Yelling Alley kept snaking around corners and corners and seemed endless, and there was no rhyme or reason to the order of the shops. There was no way Iris would be able to find her way around in the few hours she had to look around: it would take her months to explore it all, and years to safely get around without getting lost.

There were so many shops, too; so many Iris thought she'd need a catalogue to write the names down if she were to list them. All the wizarding shops you could want, some muggle stores, such as JB-Hi-Fi and clothing stores: a large population of American witches and wizards must like keeping in touch with the other side. Iris was struggling to work out why it was called Yelling Alley, mind you: the alley itself didn't yell, and no one was yelling at the alley or the passer-biers as they walked down it.

Yelling Alley was quite modern looking compared to Diagon Alley, even without the JB store. The street was made from cobblestones and had a slight slant in parts, but all in all, it was flat, other than that. There were plenty of lights and trees growing along down the street, and the houses and shops were fairly modern muggle world style. But something about the paint or the time since it was last painted made it look much newer.

Yelling Alley was all just one straight road with no alleys going off it, except for one every two hundred metres: there were rubbish bins down these, and Iris saw there were a few entrances to people's homes, too.

When Iris finally got to the bookshop she entered straight away, and then she was in awe. It was massive! Iris thought it was at least half the size of the atrium in the English Ministry for Magic. The roof was very high, and the bookshelves in the middle went right up to the roof! Luckily there were several levels to get to those books from. There were bookshelves all along the walls, too, and they only stopped to get past the landings.

"I take it this is your first time here," a voice said amusedly.

Iris turned around to see a girl with sand coloured hair, amber eyes and almost ghostly pale skin standing behind her. She looked like she'd be a year or two older than Iris. "Yes, it is my first visit here," Iris nodded.

"I work here, so what are you after? My main job is helping people find things in this shop, it's amazing how many people can't find it when they have looked through the entire shop several times! My name's Trudy Barnes," the sandy-haired girl asked.

"Education books, please," Iris responded.

"Your keen; considering school was let out last week," Trudy commented. "I'm still enjoying my break, though I started my homework before I started working today."

"Really? Why so early? I'm not from around here, you see: where I'm from we finish in a couple of weeks, or almost a week now, I suppose, but I am not completely sure on how much time has past. Iris Russell," Iris asked, surprised.

"Really? That's late: Illvermorny figures that you've done your exams, you might as well go. They send us home as soon as exams are finished and they have the results up, which if not the same day is the following morning. Will you be going to Ilvermorny, Iris?" Trudy asked. "Considering what you said, I'm guessing you left your school early or dropped out, but I won't ask why because it's not my problem."

"Yes, and thank you," Iris nodded.

"Well, I look forward to seeing you there: it's a very welcoming place, and we have students from all around the world and different cultures. Now, come with me, I'll show you where we keep all the school books," Trudy said, leading Iris upstairs.

On the third level of the bookshop, Trudy said, "They're scattered all about on this floor, there are some in that bookshelf right there: assuming you know the summoning charm, they should be easy to get despite the fact their beyond our reach. As you can see, for selling the books we have made it so that the names are charmed so large you can see them from over here." Trudy waved to the bookcase impossible to reach unless you used magic.

"Yes, I do. Thank you, Trudy. See you at Ilvermorny, Trudy, if not before," Iris said with a smile.

"If you come back here, we will meet again: I work most days of the week, after all," Trudy shrugged: she met everyone attending school as a result. Then she said, "See you soon, Iris."

Then she headed downstairs to serve other customers. With that, Iris started searching for the books she needed. She grabbed new copies of the O.W.L year Transfiguration, Charms, DADA, Astronomy, History, Potions, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures.

She already had copies, but these looked different so she had a look before she decided to buy them or not. After one quick flick through a charms book, Iris discovered the curriculum in America was a bit different to England's, or Hogwarts' to be exact. She didn't buy any sixth-year books, for two reasons: for one, she didn't know which books were needed, and two, that was a bit pretentious. If she didn't pass, she'd work out what she was going to do then.

She then found books for Alchemy, Dark Arts and Rituals years 1 to 3 and then a fourth-year coursebook: she had a bit of knowledge of them already though only basic, so learning those three years should not be too hard. Rituals were a branch of a few magics combined to make something new, Dark Arts were easy if you were half reasonable at DADA, and Alchemy had roots in Potions and Transfiguration, and then a bit in this and a bit of that.

So far, all these books had been on the edge of the room, easy for Iris to reach. But she wanted some books on the history and customs of America and Ilvermorny: most of those were in the middle which could only be accessed with magic.

Interestingly enough, the school books were all accessible without magic: Iris supposed that was so the muggles could get them for their children, along with anyone who didn't know a summoning charm or you could cheat the trace in places like this.

After pulling her wand out and summoning the book she wanted, Iris got quite a shook: she had to try two times before the spell worked! Normally it worked first go! Then the book came, but it was clear to her that the spell was less powerful than previous times she had used it.

That got Iris into a flap, not to mention a panic as the books finally floated to her. Another shop-clerk must have seen her because he came up and asked, "Are you alright, mam? You seem quite distressed."

"I just used my magic for the first time arriving in this country, and it has gotten weaker!" Iris exclaimed. She then wanted to smack herself: surely she should no spilling secrets to strangers was a bad idea! He could be an enemy for all she knew!

"Were you in quite a magical place before? Did it have powerful wards?" the clerk asked. Iris noticed his name was Justin, though he looked nothing like the other Justins she had known. He also looked like he was of African descent like she probably looked like she was of English descent.

"Yes," Iris nodded, wondering where he was going with this.

"It is quite possible you were somewhere were you were related to one of the creators or the creator of where you were schooling or living at. I'll summon a few books on family magics, wards, and the side effects they have on humans temporarily and long term. They are suggestions anyway, you don't have to buy the books," Justin said, pulling out his wand out.

He summons four books that came from one of the higher shelves. "Hopefully you will find answers in these," he said, handing them to Iris.

"Thank you. Can I pay for it now? I have all these, too," Iris asked hurriedly. She normally didn't pass up the opportunity to have a look around a bookstore, but she was feeling quite frazzled about everything that had happened, and she had all the books she needed if nothing else.

"Of course. Follow me," He said, nodding politely. Justin led her down to the ground floor where the tills were: after paying for her books and having them put into bags, Iris walked back up the street to the location of the place she had flooed from. She didn't want to do any more shopping today, she wanted to try and work her magic problem out, and then lie down and cry.

After arriving at the floo building which was also a travel agency, she flooed back to the orphanage. After checking in with Livinia, she went to her room to read for the half-hour before dinner.

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Over the next couple of weeks to when Iris was going to re-sit her O.W.L.S, she did a variety of things, other than reading her O.W.L.S yearbooks, that is. She got used to the ways at the orphanage and America in general. Already, she noticed her mannerisms and accent were changing to be more like an American woman, which was good.

On her second day at Rainbow Lodge, Iris popped out to the department store and brought some clothes from there, as well as anything else she fancied. Toothbrush and toothpaste were included in that, and female hygiene items: the magical world did not seem to consider that, which wasn't surprising considering they relied on magic for everything and it was run by males, generally, who had no concept of the inner workings of females.

Rainbow Lodge was not a bad place to live, all in all, which was good for Iris. No one bullied you at this home, due to Livinia's rules and she was very strict with keeping them, and the only chores they did were ones they were assigned to help the house-keepers. Other then that, everyone was left to their own devices.

Iris appreciated everything they provided, and only having to do a couple of chores rather than all of them was a welcome change, and much better compared to living with the Dursleys. She was making good progress on her new subjects, too. She had started a bit of Alchemy experimenting, and so far it seemed to be very hard work, along with Rituals.

Iris kept nipping into Yelling Alley to buy more books and practising her magic, particularly the dark arts. Surprisingly, she found them much easier then the Light Arts she had been taught at Hogwarts. All the spells for defence, bar the Patronus charm, were light arts according to the book she had on them, there was a dark equivalent to nearly all of them but they were quite different in what emotions were needed and how the spell was made up. Surprisingly, the Patronus charm was from the dark arts.

It seemed that she was not as powerful as she had always thought, with her magic that is. Like with the summoning charms, she had noticed all her spells were weaker, and they would fail more often, especially her Transfiguration: she was now downright terrible at that for of magic, and she used to be quite good at it.

Luckily, the books Justin had suggested gave her answers, even if they potentially horrified her. From what she read, in the old days, some of the wards casted around family homes would increase the power of people in that family, in case they were attacked. Some homes were more powerful than others, Hogwarts was one of them: the founders had casted that ward to protect Hogwarts, via giving their descendants a power-up. It may not have helped them, but it would help the future: that is what they believed.

From that, Iris concluded she must be related to the founders somehow. They had built the castle from the down up: in all her research on the castle's history during her second year, everything said that, and it said they casted all the wards, too.

Another thing mentioned was in some families, the family magics in a small range of families would not allow you to kill someone from your family with that blood in them. For example, if she were related to a family with this magic through her mothers side, she could not kill her mother or any relative related to her by blood but it had to be a direct line: cousins did not count, but aunt and uncles, siblings, parents, grandparents and grandparents beyond that did. The story was the same with her father, too.

Considering she could not kill Voldie, and she had the ability to speak to snakes, Iris decided Salazar Slytherin was probably the founder she was related to if she was indeed related. That meant she was related to Voldie, which was horrifying in her mind. But it did beg the question: which of her parents is related?

Iris was dreading finding that out though: considering Voldemort killed both her parents, the thought of one or both not being her mother and or father was impossible to shake, and Iris was scared to find out. But she had to know, so after she had done her O.W.L.s, she would go to Gringo—err, Yankgotts, and get them to take her blood to do the ancestor test.

If she was correct, they would mix it into a special potion, which then they would use Goblin Magic to find family members of the person. The relation and statues of dead or living. It was times like this Iris started to appreciate potions.

During her numerous visits to the bookstore, Iris ran into Trudy quite a few times, and they were becoming friends, slowly. Iris had also met a few of her future schoolmates, and so far, everyone seemed nice, which made Iris' new start at a new school look very promising.

At her last visit to Yelling Alley, she made friends with a set of twins: Martha and Gregory Cadle. Martha wanted to become a Potion's mistress, and Gregory was going to play professional Quidditch. With the hazel eyes, black hair, and similar features, Iris was glad the two were different genders, otherwise telling them apart would be extremely hard.

Right now, Iris was preparing to leave for the ministry to go and sit her O.W.L.S for the second time. While she did so, she thought about the future, her future. Getting the O.W.L.S out of the way was the first thing: hopefully, then she would get a spot at Illvermorny, and she already had a few friends or people she was friendly with.

But then there was that thing which was worrying her: the upcoming blood-test she was going to do the exams were over. When she found out, what would she do? From all her research on family magics, the results were going to be life-changing for her. Considering she was in America now, Iris decided she might try and pretended her life in England and the truth about her heritage did not exist, even when she found out the truth. She missed very friends and life as Banksia Potter, but the life of Iris Russell did have many advantages and was much more peaceful.

Which made Iris wonder about a job. Banksia Potter had wanted to be an Auror, so Iris Russell could not be one, despite the fact she still wanted to go down that path. Though now, that desire was not as strong, but things had changed so it wasn't surprising.

With her talent in Ancient Runes, (which didn't go away with being out of Hogwarts) she could probably become a Curse Breaker, or she could go with Martha to become a Potion's mistress, seeing that without Snape making her nervous by breathing down her neck, she was fine at it. Or maybe she could choose to become a political woman: Iris felt a little tired just thinking about all the options.

Then, seeing she had everything, Iris went and found Livinia to tell her she was going out for a while. Once Livinia had given her approval, Iris flooed to the ministry, feeling nervous. With all the changes that had happened, she was as worried as ever about passing.

"I am here for an education examination," Iris stated at the main desk: the same desk she had gone up to at her first visit. She needed to talk to this lady to get access to the rest of the ministry, however, Iris didn't like this desk lady: she looked like a tart.

"Lady Russell, is it?" the girl asked sweetly. She didn't look much older than Iris. Iris nodded, then the girl said, "Mr Bell will be here shortly." The girl then handed Iris a badge. All it said was Iris was here to be examined.

She wrote something down, and then she made a paper plane and sent it off. Seven minutes later, Iris saw Mr Bell appear. After looking around, he spotted Iris and came over.

"Ah, Lady Russell; how are you?" he asked, his voice booming.

"Fine, thank you. And you?" Iris said, being polite.

"I am fine as well. Now, follow me: everyone is waiting for you to arrive," Mr Bell said. He moved off, and Iris followed. As she did so, she couldn't help but gulp: the way he said that didn't do anything for her nerves!

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**A bit of a cliffhanger, but not much of one. Next chapter we have the exams, and I'm not sure. See you! Also, I mention Sirius' wife doesn't have a name or anything, feel free to suggest names!**


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